Method and apparatus for vulcanizing hollow articles



y 21,1929- J. R. GAMMETER 1, .01 6

XETHDD AH!) APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING HOLLQ' ARTICLES Filed April 1, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 20 n 1J2 15's 15 Jofim y 21, 1929-. J. R. GAMMETER 1,714,016,

IETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VULCAHIZING HOLLUI ARTICLES Filed A ril 1, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet s 4o Oftheaccompanying dra Pawnee-Ma er, 1929."

1 UNITED] STATES a uciuo m April 1,

This invention relates to'the manufacture of hollow rubber articles such as inner tubes for tires and especially to and ap paratus for vulcanizing the same under mternal fluid fpre'ssure'e'mployed to distend the article against, a vulcanizing mold. Heretofore-the vulcanization of innertubes and the like hasinvolved certain problems such as the matter of displacing air-contained within the article order to avoid oxidation of the latter and in order to obtain a uniform heat distribution, and the matter of expelling air from, between thearticle and the mold in' order to avoid the forming of'blemishes on the l5 outer 'surfac of the article. I My chief o jects are to pr ovide improved procedure and apparatus .whereby such difiiculties may readily be overcome, to provide vulcanizing apparatus adapted for quick and-easy insertion and removal of the work,

- and-to provide improved lgggaratus wherein the articles may be vulcan' overlapping periods, mold changes being afiected insuc cessio'n from one end'to the other of a'series 2 of vuleanizing'molds constitu a single operating unit while all of the mol continue in service except the-one in which a vulcanized article "is 'bein replaced b an article to be f vulcanized. more speci 0 object is-to provide improved procedure and a paratus for- :moldingand vulcanizingunder internal fluidrcssure an "inner tube which before vulcaniza'tion normally assumes a transversely flattened form, with itstread portion of but slightly greater diameter than itsinner riphery, as in the case of inner tubes built by bringing together and longitudinally -seau j the side margins of an annular sheet of stock mountedupon a building a tive view of a -ing drum ad tocarryout a step of my process, with e workinplace thereon. V Fig: 2 is a side eleyat ionof the same, at a. stagelofoperafivh; parts being sectionpdl gandlbro en away. I f Fig.3 is a section of a part of the mm the,,work thereon atp'la 4 is a side elevation of Fig.1is

Fig. 5 is a-perspective-view of a blockof gelatin encasing an inner-tubs 6 e or annex, OHIO, mama 'ro mi '1. Goonmcn gnu-m or m YORK, .11. 2.; a conronmo nor. NEW Yoax;

"1925. serial m. 98,988.

b n t nd g hesameat if.

". still, ater stage of operation. n

a .lysuitablero A- Ear o FicE.

. mnonmn arramus roawt ncamzmenomow an'rrcms.

prevent the latter from dama an inner tube in which it is enclosed in' t epractice ofmy invention. i Fig. 6 is a perspective view-of cooling and shaping ring or rim with an innerv tubemounted'thereon, parts being sectioned and broken away. 1

Fig. 7 is a section of a mold of a type that may be used in the practice of my invention, with the work therein.

Fig. 8s a side elevation, with arts broken away and in section, of a vulcamz er embodying and adapted to carry out certain features of "my inventionin its preferred form. F ig.-9 is a diagrammatic elevation of fluid circulatin means for distending the articles during vu canization. j

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary horizontal section, on alarger scale, of the preferred type -of, mold, the said section being taken on such planes as to show inplan an inner tube mounted in the mold,'as it appears at an early stage ofthevulcanizing operation. 7 Fig.- '11 is a similar fragmentary, horizontalsection of the preferred meld assembly, showing alternative procedure with respect to the valve-stem. Fig-12 is a section on line 12 12 of Fig. 11. 3. Fig. 13is a section on line 13-13 of Fig. 11. Referring to the drawings, the tube is preferably; built upon a drum 10 which is adaptedto be mounted for rotation and has upon-its outer'faceanannular bandll' of flexible, elastic non-adhesive material such as vulcanized rubber, this b and\ preferably being formed with a middle rib 12 0n its inner face,set into In the of my its retime? *femd form, astrip 1 3 of alendered m s drawn from'a'sourceof sup ly such as a cal-- ender and wonndup'on the 10 over the n beinggiven such'helical fortnthat the margins of each. turn of the material areeslightly 'ofi-set from thosej' 'of the J preceding turn -Ss willbeunderstood upon reference-toFigs.-1 .and2. I The an 've ,convolu'tions maybe pro'- grcssively com' other by meansd thewm readily accomplished by rotating the drum,

. (w lyfrom the calender the warm and tacky condition of the rubber results in strong adhesion of the plies. r

When the desired number of plies have thus been drawn onto the drum," the strip 13 issevered, as lu on the line 14 of Fig. 1, preferably al the same. position 'circumferentially of the drum as. that of the leading end 139 of the winding, and the residue 13 of the stock strip is freed from the drum assembly.

v A valve stem patch 15 is then mounted upon the margin 16 ofthe winding at whichthe last Wound ply overhangs theunderlyingplies as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The exposed outer surface of the winding, except the margin 17 (Fig. 2) opposite'that to which the valve stem pad is attached, is treated with a wash constistingiof ahighly volatile. liquid containing a suitable substance in solution or suspension to prevent adhesion of the rubber when the solvent evaporates, which occurs quickly because of the warm condition of the stock when it is drawn directly from the calender. A suitable wash for this purposeis a solution, which may be.super-saturated,

of stearic acid in alcohol. The wash readil may be applied by means of a paint brus 18, Fig. 2,v held against the work-while the drum isrotated, 1' After the solvent has evaporated, the margin 16, upon which the valve stem patch is mounted, is progressively turned'over to approximately the middle line of the assembly,

together with theadj acent margin of thenonadhesive underlying bandll, which may be and manipulating the said margins with-a suitable turning tool, as will be readily understoodby those skilled in the art.

The opposite margins of the band 11 and of the work arethen similarly turned over and the margins of the winding of the tacky rubber strip '13 are progressively joined together in the mis-matched, interfitted relation which is clearly shown in Fig. 3. The por tion of the valve stem patch 15 which projects from the margin 16 contacts andi's stuckto the inner face of the inner ply of the margin 17, so that it lies within the resulting tube,

bridgingthe seam. The seaming operation is preferably started at the position of. the

' valve stem patch 15, and the valve stem hole 15 is piuiched in the structure before .the seaming has further progressed, after which the seaming operation is completed. During the seaming operation thevalve stem 19, en cased in a block 20 of gelatin or the like .(see Figs. 5 and 6), adapted to prevent the valve stem from damaging the uncured tube during handling or storage, is placed within the tube 13 as the latter is formed from the windmg 13;. The seam is then compacted by retating the drum with the work thereon while holdinga roller. 21 (Fig. 4) against the middle portion of the-work.

'- hers may The tube is then removed the-drum,

turned so that'the seam and valve stem patch are on its inner periphery, and is mounted upon a cooling and shaping rim 22 (Fig. .6) I

which is of an obtuse U-form in .eross-section and of-such size with relation to the' tube 13 as slightly to tension the latter and cause it to assume a double-walled U-form in cooling, and to be substantially free of contained air.

'When the tube-has cooled and consequently has set in this double-walled U-form it is-re- A- series of steam-jacket mold members is provided for vulcanizing the articles in the press, the said series comprising intermediate mold members 115,- 115, each formed with an annular mold cavity 115 in its lower face and an'annular mold cavity 115 inits-upper face (Figs. 12and 13), the adjacent cavities I- of adjacent moldmel'nbers being adapted to mate.

A mold member- 116 of appropriately modi-- fied form, having .a mold cavity only in its lower face, is provided as the uppermost member of the series and is suitably secured to the upper press-head 110, the several mold members being provided with means. for setoo curing each member to thenext in the series s'o'that an desired number of the mold memhead while a'lower member or members of the series may be withdrawn downward from those so suspended in order to open the mold cavity defined by any two adjacent mold memsuspended from the upper pressbers.. This construction is such as to permit the removal of a vulcanized article from thecavity thus 0 ened and the substitution of an'article to e vulcanized, while all .ofthe other mold cavities are kept closed to continue the vulc'anizing of the articles. therein.

A'mold member-117 of suitably modified construction, having a mold cavity only in its upper face, is provided at the bottom of the series and is maintained in pro rl tered position upon'the lower press-head 114.

by suitable lugs 118,.118 formed upon the latter. andis preferably secured to the lower press-head, in any suitable manner, in order that the weight of the ram may supplement" the weight of the lowermost mold member and any others that may be locked -thereto .to assure the opening of the selected mo 1 cavity when the fluid pressure upon the ram is released.

. For convenienceor constructloneach of the mold members is preferably formed in :by bolts 119, 119, 119, 119", and sealed to each" manifold 123 (-Fig. 8), and with arr-outletsiphon E i-communicating with a flexible pipe 125 to an outlet manifold 126,- for venting water oi condensation from thej lowermost part of thest'eam'cavity.

7 two sections, as shown clearly in Figs. 12 and 13, the said sections .being secured together other as by gaskets; 120, 120, the two sections of eachmember 115- defining between them a steam cavi f 121 provided with 'a flexible steam-inlet p 1pe-122 running from a steam The means for locking ad'acent mold' members together, as to" each pair' of ad jacent mold members, comprisessadocking l27 -formed' with an internal screw- -:thread' 128 mtshed with-.a male thread.-129 formed upon-theupper moldmember of the 'by the rotition-of pair, the locking ring formed near its lower margin with a circum erentialseries ly' between locking lugs 131, 131, formed ally with relation to each other, and to inter ing r'ing is-rotated upon t e screw-thread-129,-

thepitch ofthe screw threads -128 and-r129 preferably being such that the locking lugs 130; and 131 may be brought, tightly together{ the locking ling upon the thread 129.

Suitable means, suchas a; pinion 132 mount: ed-upon the upper moldi'member of the pair and meshed w1th asee. of rack-teeth'-133 formedon the upper edge of the locking ring,

may provided or rota each of the lockmg rings, the hub of the pinion being formedbar;

with 9. 11012134 to The walls of-the mating mold cavities 115 4 and 115*, when the apparatus is designed for v inner tubes,-are preferably so formed as to'define a complete mold cavity which is of flattened or oblateform in, crosssection, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, in order that a comparatively large number of .the

mold members may be employed in a single ,10, the 19 supported. wholl press of givbn h' htandin order that the mold members may be of.cdmp aratively light weight,to.' avoid elice ive, strain upon the loclring means and in. order that-a largeraising and lowering the'mold members.

e walls of the 'matingcavltles 1159 and 115" also re preferably soiormed that the lower mo member of the a r w ll present an uninterrupted face 135 Figs. 12 and .13). to'thejnner tube throughout a'zone transversely extending for aconsiderable distance inner periphery of the tube, themold members ha annular i'nner meeting .i hdirect-ion' from the middle line of'the -margin bein tube. stretch. or uttoned thereover when mto and. exten of locking lugs 130, 130, adapted to pass freereeeive a crank-or turn stem, during outlet 161 "at'the bars elbow, i surfaces tiallyof the tube 13',-so as to m eciTtITe -'at-136, well above the said middle line,

construction providing an annular, button-- like (see Fig. 8) inner margin 137 of the lower 'mol niember, said button-like a a ted-t0 receive an inner} the mold cavityjs open and to hold the tube in a desirable fo for the closing of the mold cavity without pinching of the tube. This feature isof especial value when'the, inner tube ispresented to the mold while collapsed and bent to a double-owalled U-form, as is 12 and 13.

panded by the ressure uid injected there-. its contact with the mold cavity walls progressively toward the said shown the tube 13 in Figs.

.The-walls'1l5 and 115" are preferably so termed at the outer periphery of the. mold cavity as tomeet in a parting plane 139 at the *middle line of the outer'periphery of the mold cavity, so. thatas the colla sed'tube 13* is ex;

outer, peripheral parting plane the air con- I otained'iwithin the mold cavity, outside the tube, will be completely expelled hrough such spaces as occur between the mold mem-V- at. the said parting plane or through vent channels 1-10, 140 which may be especially I provided in the mold members at the parting .plan forthatpurposel e Thelowermoldmember as to each com; plete mold cavity formed with an aperture 141 through itsinner peripheral wall adapted to receive alternativelylan L-shaped valvesstexnsupporting and fluidconducting bar or pipe 158 or the valve stem 19; ofthe inner tube 13fcontai nedin the-said cavity,

and with-a fillet 1142 providing a. flat surface about the mold-cavity end-of the aperture so that the valve-stem patch15 and the wall of the-inner tube thereat may belvulcanized in a flat condition through contacted bythe head 19! of the valve stem andthevalve-stem nut 145, as this esirable to obtain a good sealing stem to the tube upon the subsequent setting up of the valve-stem nut when thejvalvhead out or eontactwith the wee. i Inthegxi-eferred procedure shown-in Fig.

within the tube but out of contact therewi out the area to be "of the valvevulean'izationfisheld with its.

dufingvulcanization by means of the'L-1 shaped bar 158, which has its "end stem,-ithe'bar at the other side of its elbow power consumptionwilk not be required. for -ti thi th t b d t d to fit wit-ha, i

being adapted to extend throuighthe a rture 141 of themold member an ormed with a flzinge,15 9 adapted to seat in a coun-iterbore formed in the fillet 142 at the end of the saidaperture' The saidba'r is'formed with 1 fluid: passage 160 av g a ea fluid-tangentially of the and thus avoid scorching of the wall of the tube when steam'or other hot gas is used as the distending medium. Thesa'id passage 160 leads to the said outlet 161 from the end of the 'radially disposed portion 'of the bar, which 1 is so'formed as to receive the coupling mem- Alternatively the counter-bored apertureher 149 of a flexible,-fluid-injecting plpe 146.

141'in the mold is adapted to accommodate the valve-stem 19 and valve-stem nut 145 with the tube contacting face of the latter flush with the plane face of the fillet 142, so that with the valve-stem nut screwed to a proper position upon the valve-stem the head of'the latter will stand away from the valve-stem patch 15 when the tube wall is sealed against the fillet and valve-stem nut, as shown in Figs. 11 and 13. The flexible pipe'146, for injecting pressure fluid into the tubes andwvithdrawing it therefromy loosely steam cavity 121 of each of the mold-members having an upwardly-facing -mold cavity, in a region diametrically opposite the mold members fluid-inlet aperture, the tube .147 being sealed to the respective walls of the steam cavity, and the said pipe 146 also extends slidably;t'hrough a supporting tube 148 projecting from the inner peripheral wall of the annular mold member, into the central space thereof, toward the molds fluid-inlet three-way valve 150, with slack suflicient to permit the separating of the mold members and the drawing of the pipe'through the tubes 147, 148 to connect it "with successive inner tubes, each of the three-way valves 150 being connected througha pipe 151 with-a pressure-fluid manifold 152 (Fig. 8) and through a pipe 153 with a suction'manifold 154- v 2 The suction manifold "154 "has-connection to the pressure manifold 152 through an accumulator 155, a pump 156 and a pressure tank 157, so that the inert gas which Ipreferablyuse-for distending the tubesmay be saved and used in successive vulcanizing op erations.

In mounting the valve stem 19 upjon the supporting-bar 158 .the..gelati'n block 20,

' shaken down to the positioifof the valve-stem aperture in the tube ,is grasped through the medium of the wallof the'tube and is thus stuck onto the supporting'b'ar. Thismay be and slidably extends through a tube 147 (Fig.12) traversing the.

done without uncoupling the member 149 .from the supporting bar, i f desired, as the bar and the coupling member 149 and the flexible pipe 146 attached thereto maybe drawn outward through theaperture 141 of the mold member, so that, the member 149 and pipe occupy the position in which they are shown with respect to the open mold cavity in Fig. 8, and then'drawn back-to vulcan- ,-i zing position'after the mounting of the 7b valve-stem upon the supporting-bar, but I prefer to mount the valve-stem upon the supporting-bar first and-thereafter connect the coupling member 149.

' During the vulcanization of the tube the gelatin or the like melts and'runs from the valve-stempnto the floor of the tube .and, when a drydistending gas is used, loses'its moisture sufliciently to'bec'ome' brittle and be 7 1 reduced to a powder in thesubsequent handling of the tube, so that'it does not interfere with the proper functioningof the tube in service.

In operation of the vulcanizer,-the mold members being heated by a circulation of steam through their steam cavities 121, the

mold cavities are opened and closed oneafter another for the removal ofa vulcanized tube and the insertion of another tube to be vul-- canized, this operation preferably bein formed with respect to the several'mold cavities in succession from one'end' of'the series to the other, only one mold cavity being open n at any given time, so that the vulcanization of the tubes in the other cavities continue 1 0 during the mold change. t

In making a mold change, the; mold members all'being locked together by-the locking rings 127 and the tubes being held in an expanded condition in the molds by .fiuid pressure applied through'the pipes 146, the pressure fluid is then withdrawn from'the tube that is to be removed fromthe mold, by operating the valve 150 to shutoff the supply of perpressure fluid through the-, pipe 151 and con- I nect the interior of the tubemzith the suction manifold 154 through the 153, which results in the tube beingevacuated and consequently collapsed-, within the mold to the form, shown in Fig. 13, which it had at the be- I ginning of the vulcanizing operation, the pressure of air-entering through the channels 140 acting to strip the tread-portion of the tube progressively f om the. molding surfaces.

The valve 150 is henturned toaa position 0 such as to close all threeof thepip e s 146, 151 and 1 53, and the mold cavity-is opened by ro-'- tating the locking-ring 127 to disengage its lugs; fromv those of thelower m ld member and by lowering the ram 113. s ,The. ,vulcanized v tube is then removed from the-lower; mold member, the partadjacent, the'lllve..stem aperturebeing removed last andtbe coupling member 149 and thevflexible pipe146'being.

drawn outward throughthe aperture 141 of mum i the 'mold'member to the-position in which they are shown with'respect to the open mold cavity in Fig.8. The coupling. member 149 of the pipe 146 is then from the v5. valve-stem-supportingrbar '158,the latter is removed -from the tube, the. valve-stem {is *wo'rkedinto place inthe valve-stem aperture,

- and' avalve-stem'nut 145 is screwedonto the a valve-stem and set' up to 3 clamp lthe valve- 1 stem patch and-the underl gwalljof the tube between the saidnut an 1 he valve-stem head 19, to seal the yalve-stemin place; the tube then being ready for service.

An uncured tube with the valvestem and 5 the .valve-stem-supporting bar assembled therewith as-above described is then'mounted in the lower mold member bystretching it' lover or buttoning it onto the .annular flange 137, which coe perates with the floor of 20 he mold .cavity to hold ."the tube approxi- -mately in the uform of Figs. 12 and13, for rece tion of the upper mold member without pinc g-of the'tube. In the mounting of the tube the portion of the tube adjacent the valvestem is first placed in the mold and brought against the flange 137j'whi1e the valve-stem-supporting bar .158 is inserted throu hthe aperture 141 ofthe' mold, andthe tu isthen stretchedfoverthe flange 137 with 1d -th h t-th restof,

m 8 mo cavlty tong e that 1t avoids oxidation of the tube an ef-'."

its tircumference and the flexible pipe 146 is connected up with the-bar 158, by means of the coupling 149. The ram 113 is then raisedto close the mold cavity and two mold men bars definingthe same are then locked-together-by meansoi the The valve 150'- isnthen turned to.- connect the'pressure manifold152j with the interior of the tube, and the pressure fluidfl-flowing 40' into the latter through the yalve stem causesthe collapsedtube 13 see-Fig.'13 to fillout to the form of the mo d-cavity,t e annular folds of the tube at the ends of .the-arms of the U being) causedto move outward in the mold 46 cavity :7 a rolling action such that the tube extends its contact with the mold progressive- 1y toward the outer-partinglane of the-mold v n members. 1 The air contain inthe mold cavity, outside of the tube, is thus completely ex- 60 pelled through the channels 140, with conseaquent avoidance of; blemishing of the e x- "terior of the tube duringwulcanization.T he..tube.is thusvulcanized while dis- 3 tended against, the mold, and meanwhile mold changes 8841181; are efi'ected with respect to other moldcavities oi the cavities il i-collapsed condition as just describ'eiftd which 'I however donot "wholly limitLm'y invention, the tube is preferably formed lwith a comparatively thick tread wall 138,121,513 :calendering the strip 13 with relativel thick and thin zones, as'shown clearly iILFl 3, sothat the-longitudinal stretching. of the eel tread wall incident to its mov ng ber of mold cavities in a pressbo ottwara'frbmiatomimmivu mtu-digm Y 'eter position (Fig. 13) toits final. position I against the tread "wall ofthemold not I r result in .an exoess'ivel thin treadwall in the finishe'dtube. Suchmitial thicknessof the tread wall i's-desirable also, to compensate for. transverse stretching of the tread wall in case the tube is made of such ,size in cross-section] as to be transversely stretched in out to moldform. pi- Q-I 1- 76 The operation ofthe apparatus 'in the medified procedureillustrated-in' Figs. 11,12 and 13 is substantiall the same as'that Just described except thatithewalverstem. 19 is mounted in the wallKof the tubeand the 30- ,aperture 141 and connected directly'to 'the' coupling member 149,- the valve-stemnut 145 l f fitting the ,counterbor'e of theaperture 141 with .its-tube-contactin face flush withzth'at -of the fillet 1l2,.andt%e.nut screwed 35 to such ositi'on on the valve-stem'as-to hold the hea' 19" of thelatter away from the inf-4 her well of the tube during vulcanization.

In Fig thetube'13 is shown as being vulcanized between mo1d-sections-I6 fining 'a'n oblate mbld'cavity-a nd having their Baiting planes-positioned as above described, ut being without steam. cavities-and adapt j edtobemounted-inaplatenpressx The. use of the mert gas isof advanta e in t5" --tion of withdrawing the inert gas from the;

tube toconserve it vantage of loosening the tube fromthe mold, esvpeciallywhen thetube is introduced to the moldfin a collapsedconditionasdescribed so that itis substantially free ofcontainedair;

Ihe'useof inertgas'fisalso of especial ad vantage in connection with the vertical position-of the press-since it involves no water of condensatiomwhich is not readily -eliminated from a-hollow article. suchjas an in: nor tube or the like in the horizontalposi tion whichis incident to the use of the vertioblate cavities not only'provides a'large a a. w he ght, but produces an 1111161 .tube which may i I have -when umnfiated an outeror tread diameter greater'tlian that of the tire cavity in which it is to be used and an inner diameter A less thanthat of thetire cavity .while hay-"1 ;ing a-qoss-sectional 'perimeter'only equal to When the tubes are mounted: in the mold "or'les than, thatof. the PmfiaWty, so; that v the tube readily-may be inserted 1'n'the-t1re and when inflated therein will have rubber in -"-'its' tread -portion under compression, for puncture-proof pu" by reason of the flex ure of that portionf'and-w'ilf fit the tire cav ty at the beads longitudinal shretch and without either longitudinal or transverse provides the attendant ad- I e em le m m ofmld finembei si s ng third'advantage of the ob1ate form of mold cavity is employed for distending the hollow articlewhen inert gas therein is that a relatively small amount of the 'gas and a relatively small power demand 5 upon'the pump 156 is required as compared The oblate form of mold cavity is especially desirable in connection with the vertical posi? tion of the press because it avoids the necessity ofthe. operator working at excessively =difierent elevations for a press of given capacity, and the vertical position of the press is of advantage in connection with the means for locking adjacent mold members together,

since gravity acts in an axial direction upon the inolds throughout the series and consequently exerts upon them no nus-aligning force; I

The vertical position of the press also is of advantage in connection with the buttoni-ngf of the U-folded tube onto the annular flange'l37, as it causes the upper fold of the 1 tube to be urged by gravity toward the middle of the tube throughout i ts circumference, for

so neat reception of the upper mold member.

The specific form of the mold. members shown, in which the inner parting plane 136 is above the middleline of the inner periphery of the molding cavity, is of advan- 85 tage in the vertical type of press in that it mayprovide for the steam cavity 121 a floor of which all parts slope toward the annular outer side, for full expulsion of water of con-.

idensation, while the next lower steam cavity extends well up about the inner periphery of the tube 13 so as'to provide the necessary uniformity of heat application transversely about the tube.

-The *feature of sliding the flexible pipe 4 146. outwardly "through the aperture 141 of .the mold member, as shown in Fig.8, is of especial, advantage in the vertical press, as it permits the mounting of the tube to be vulcanized and the removal of the vulcanized .tube with respect to the flexible pipe at a posi tion outside of the vertically limited space be- It)ween the upper and lower sets of mold. memers.

I The U-'folding. of the tube in conjunction withthe use of a mold ha'viiig an oblate moldi'ng' cavity relatively narrow.iin a direction parallel with its axis permits the molding of a tube originally flattened in a radial direction to a form in which it is flattened in an axial. direction.

It is thus apparent that my invention,-while not limited in scope to a combination of all of the features described, provides a combina tion of numerous-features each having having a cross-sectional form of substantially I less maximum'dimension' in 'an axial than in a radial direction, distending the tube in the mold by internal fluid-pressure, and "vulcaniz'ing the tube while it is thus distended. 2. The method of making a' hollow rubber article having a valve-stem in a wall thereof which comprises. enclosing the valve-stem in a. block of soft but cohesive material adapted tobe melted by the heat OfVlllC&IllZlt lO!l,8I1-r closing the said block with the valve-stem I therein in. the hollow article, enclosing the articlegin a mold, supporting theivalve-stem .out of contact with the inner surface ofthe article while holding the article distendedin the inold by internal fluid pressure and vul canizing the articlefand thereafter mount In combination with vulcanizing ap-' p'aratus for articles having inflating stems,-

a block of soft but cohesive material hav-- valve-stem from damaging the article in the mounting of the latter in. the vulcanizing apparatus and being adapted to be rendered noncohesiye by the vulcanizing heat.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of March. 1926.

J OHN R. GAMMETER'.

ing the valve-stemiina wall of the. article. 'c 

